Coronavirus Lockdown and the Blatant Suppression of Democracy

2020 wasn't the best year for most people. It was the year that the coronavirus spread like wildfire and billions across the globe were limited to their houses. I think it’s safe to say that we were all constantly questioning when this torturous phase of containment would end. Nobody could have predicted it. We are yet to find out how it really started in the first place. It may have started in a lab; it may have started because of a bird or it may have been started by the Chinese government on purpose to disrupt the American economy. Well now lets talk of something we know and is pretty evident.

The condition of democracy has degraded ever since the pandemic started. Governments have engaged in violence and abuse, silencing those who go against them and their policies and have disregarded their citizen’s views and requests. COVID-19 has heavily impacted human rights and democracy. Surveys suggest that democratic power has weakened in about 80 countries.

This crisis will most likely continue even after the pandemic comes to an end as the strict actions and laws being decided now will be almost irreversible later on. Journalists and activists have been risking imprisonment and fines to report the true state of affairs in their countries. The citizens are demanding change mainly in the country of Belarus, where protests began in August. These protests have become a movement for political reform. People were imprisoned without justification and legal authorities had overstepped their boundaries. It seems as though the coronavirus was used as an excuse for the existing oppressive government to do things that they have been planning for a long time. The excuse of COVID-19 has also been used to arrest, abduct, rape, assault, and intimidate human rights activists, opposition party leaders/supporters, civil society leaders and journalists on ‘allegations of violating lockdown conditions.’”

Case studies about countries like India and Vietnam were conducted in the months of April and May. These countries were highly applauded for their way of managing affairs during the peak of the pandemic in contrast to developed countries like Italy and France. Had the Indian government not enforced a lockdown at an early stage, the nation would be struggling. I believe that for any government, enforcing a strict lockdown takes a lot of guts. There are so many risk factors involved while taking such a huge measure. Most of the population of underdeveloped countries and developing countries are workers who are paid daily minimum wages. They do not have high standards of living and savings to last on. As the lockdown prevented them from going out to work, they have had no food to put on the table and no money to take care of their families. Their frustration and anger led to them reacting harshly. It is justifiable but not in unforeseen situations like these. The rate of domestic abuse and violence has increased drastically. Businesses were hurt and people lost their livelihood. Unemployment was at an all-time high. Social unrest was growing but it was way beyond anybody’s control. Countries like Liberia have experienced brutal curfews by the security forces.

On social media and primetime news shows, India’s Muslims were being held accountable for spreading the coronavirus and members of political parties were labelling them as ‘superspreaders’. The basic human rights of citizens have been taken away and freedom of speech comes with a penalty. We can only hope for a better tomorrow.

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